Posts
Attendance
What Works for Building Audiences? Let’s Review the Data.
One of the biggest issues museums face right now is diminished attendance. Years after most pandemic-induced closures have lifted, the majority of institutions have still seen only a …
Finding New Audiences in Small Markets
While most major museums are based in urban centers or tourist hubs, those located in more rural areas face a unique challenge to expand their reach. Without a large local population or a …
External Pressures on Museum-Going: A 2023 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story
This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2023 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, a national survey of American museum visitors from AAM and Wilkening Consulting. Every year, the …
Leisure-Time Shifts in a (Mostly) Post-Pandemic World: A 2023 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story
There have been a lot of changes in how people live their lives over the past five years, largely (but not exclusively) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While some of these shifts may benefit …
Museum Visitation—Frequency vs. Incidence Gaps: A 2023 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story
When we plot out certain demographic characteristics, we find that who visits museums frequently (and the gaps we discover) can be very different than who visits museums at all (the …
Museum Visitation: A 2023 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story
It's been 3.5 years since the COVID-19 pandemic devastated museum visitation. For some museums, visitation is back to normal. For others, well,…
The Path to Financial Recovery and Resilience: An #AAM2022 Keynote by Michael Bobbitt
Michael Bobbitt, Executive Director of Mass Cultural Council, opened the Financial Wellness focus area of the 2022 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo with his keynote, “The Path to …
Museum sector enjoyed growing numbers of visitors in 2021
The Art Newspaper released its annual visitation survey for art museums around the world, and while numbers are still down from pre-pandemic levels, the results show that 2021 saw …
Theme Index and Museum Index – Global Attractions Attendance Report
This report, produced jointly by TEA and AECOM, provides figures and analysis of the performance of theme/amusement parks as well as museums…
How the Museum of Science and History in Memphis Used the Pandemic to Springboard Its Strategic Plan
By the time the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis had already started a radical reshaping of its image, structure, and programming. When I began as Executive …
Running with Scissors: Creating a Sustainable History Experience (2017-2020)
You may know that Old Salem Museums & Gardens (OSMG) and The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, have been making considerable changes …